Era of Magic and Martial Arts

Chapter 673: Chapter 618: Dead from a Single Drop of Blood? This Is Unreal!

"Heavenly Return!"

The two words were uttered lightly, yet they exploded like thunder in the confined space.

In an instant, the black aura barrier around [Mask] solidified completely, with countless threads of energy weaving and wandering like living creatures on its surface.

The gaunt elder’s withered claws, wrapped in a sinister black aura, fiercely collided with the barrier!

"Sizzle—!"

It was like a scorching iron plunged into icy water, or countless resilient steel wires slicing through leather at high speed. The piercing frictional noise was excruciating.

"Ugh!"

The gaunt elder let out a short cry of pain as the bones in his fingers experienced agonizing pain, the resilient skin being peeled away layer by layer by the high-speed spinning energy, sending flesh and shards flying.

"Is it a perfect defense? No, it’s not just defense, there’s a force that pulls and grinds!!!"

While struggling, the gaunt elder only felt an unparalleled suction at the point of contact, like the vortex of a blender, fiercely "biting" his hands, trying to drag them in.

His face turned cold, but there was no sign of retreat in his eyes. Planting his feet firmly, his hands moved as if sealing, advancing instead of retreating, and forcefully pushing further into the vortex.

His arms suddenly swelled in a circle, and the veins beneath his skin twisted and bulged like writhing dragons, almost breaking through the skin!

"Break it——!"

His arm muscles bulged to the limit, the skin showing a strange bluish-purple due to excessive tension. Ignoring the heart-piercing pain and splattering blood from his fingers, he forcibly pressed the "Heavenly Return" inward.

"Squish!"

The skin and flesh at the tips of his fingers were completely stripped away, leaving only the white bones exposed, with even two finger bones twisted off by sheer force, ground to powder in the spinning black aura in an instant!

The intense pain twisted his features into those of a fiend, yet his muddled eyes burned more fiercely with frightening ferocity.

"I underestimated you. Your strength exceeds my expectations, but unfortunately, it’s still far from enough. Let me teach you a lesson—there’s no unbreakable shell in this world."

The gaunt elder shouted, stomping his right foot down fiercely, causing the concrete floor to shatter with a sound.

His entire figure transformed into a blood-colored afterimage, using his head as a hammer, his shoulder as a blade, his elbow as a knife, and his knee as an arrow. His entire body’s muscles and bones turned into murderous weapons, crashing towards [Mask]!

"Crack!"

The Heavenly Return was forcibly flattened, finally shattering under the strain.

Two pairs of bloodied withered claws, now resembling two skinless pythons, with black nails glistening with toxic light, went straight for [Mask]’s throat.

The air at close range was compressed, making a hissing and exploding sound.

The aura the gaunt elder emitted at this moment was incredibly intimidating, his killing intent tangible, tinting the air with a thin layer of blood-colored frost.

In [Mask]’s eyes, the Hook Jade suddenly accelerated its rotation, slowing everything in his sight.

He twisted his arms at a strange angle, crossing them in a defensive block against the lethal trajectory.

In that instant, the four arms of the two entangled and locked, with every clash exploding a ring of shock waves visible to the naked eye.

The two figures tangled and tore at nearly the same speed, exchanging over thirty moves in the blink of an eye.

Their feet twisted and swapped steps, kicking and stepping closely within mere inches, keeping their distance dangerously close.

"Old fool, moving your blood so quickly, are you eager to bleed faster and die sooner?"

In the fierce struggle, [Mask] issued a well-intentioned reminder.

The gaunt elder’s hands wildly danced, his black nails glowing with a dark luster, while he sneered:

"I’ve plenty of blood, but you better be careful; once you drop a single drop, it’s the Yellow Springs Road for you."

He continued his frenetic attack, his speed growing faster and faster, like a violent storm, before suddenly pausing at the peak of his speed, with his hand movements freezing for a split second in an odd fashion.

[Mask]’s blocking move showed a slight flaw, with a subtle alarm in his heart: "Fast and Slow Blade?!!"

The gaunt elder seized the moment when [Mask]’s old strength had waned and new strength had not yet arisen, with his right hand’s three fingers like a scorpion’s stinger, rising fiercely at even greater speed, targeting [Mask]’s heart!

"You’ve been fooled!"

The gaunt elder’s sinister laughter echoed like a night owl’s screech in the narrow shaft.

At the critical moment, [Mask] bent backward, supporting himself on one hand, his entire body flipping backward like a black arrow released forcefully!

"Woosh—!"

The hem of his clothes tore through the air, raising a chilling wind howl.

Along his flipping trajectory, the air twisted violently, exploding into several circles of invisible ripples.

Three black ghost shadows, indistinguishable from his real self, instantaneously split from the twisted air, shooting out in distinctly different directions—left, right, and upward.

The boundary between real and illusion blurred!

"Humph, more illusions, it seems you have no more moves to play."

The gleam in the gaunt elder’s murky old eyes brightened, like two pieces of ignited charcoal, piercing through the dim light, locking onto [Mask]’s authentic retreating trajectory.

The gaunt elder’s piercing gaze and aggressive advancement shattered the layers of illusion!

[Mask] stomped his heel hard on the ground, crossing his arms in an X pattern.

"Clang!"

Suddenly, two glints of cold light burst from his elbow joints, and two somber white bone blades sprang forth!

The palm wind of the gaunt elder arrived, and at the touch of the bone blade and flesh palm, the blades shattered sections by sections, with the splattered blood droplets exploding into a crimson mist in the gusts of wind.

[Mask] crossed his arms, his body trembling, a bang sounded as he slid backwards, feet scraping a stream of sparks against the ground.

The gaunt elder chased swiftly, his stepping technique suddenly turning and revolving, circling around [Mask], filling the air with a flurry of palm shadows that rained down.